U.N., Vietnam agree hilltribe repatriation terms
PHNOM PENH - The U.N. refugee agency
said it had reached an agreement with Hanoi to allow repatriation
of up to 1,000 asylum seekers who fled to Cambodia after a crackdown on ethnic minority
protests in Vietnam last year.
The repatriation plan was signed in Phnom Penh on Monday night after Hanoi agreed to
U.N. demands for access to Vietnam's Central Highlands to monitor the safety of those
who wished to return.
About 1,000 asylum seekers are holed up in two U.N. camps in Cambodia after fleeing a
crackdown by Hanoi on protests for land rights and religious freedom that broke out in the
Central Highlands last February.
The unrest was the worst to hit communist-ruled Vietnam for years. It rattled the
authorities, who limited access to the region and sent in police and soldiers to prevent new
outbreaks.
"This is a voluntary programme," Jahanshah Assadi, regional representative for the U.N.
High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR), told reporters after the meeting.
"UNHCR can go to the Central Highlands immediately. We just have to put in our request
to the (Vietnamese) government."
The official Vietnam News Agency said Hanoi had reiterated it would ensure the safety of
the returnees. "(They) will be accepted safely and they will not be punished or
discriminated against for reasons related to their departure," it said.
The news agency said Vietnam, Cambodia and the United Nations had agreed that visits
by UNHCR would start soon and that they would meet again on May 31 to review
implementation of the agreement.
In September, courts in the Central Highlands jailed 14 minority people accused of
organising last year's protests. Sentences ranged from six to 12 years.
New York-based Human Rights Watch said last week systematic persecution of minorities
in the highlands had continued and any repatriation needed to be voluntary and closely
monitored.
"This should not trigger the closure of the UNHCR camps in Cambodia for those who
remain, nor bar the provision of asylum to others continuing to flee persecution in Vietnam,"
it said.
Hilltribe communities in the Central Highlands have long been suspect by Hanoi because of
their Christian faith and allegiance to U.S. forces during the Vietnam War.
Reuters - January 22, 2002.
|